After a promising first half in which the hosts created very little, The Stags continued their trait of starting a half slowly and threw away their deserved first half lead in a 2-1 defeat. It summed up the clubs season perfectly, moments of promise but impotent in front of goal and porous at the back.
With Adam Murray speaking in recent interviews about young players being given a chance and his dissatisfaction with the options he had to choose from, it was disappointing to see only four changes for a game which meant very little. With the exception of Thomas and Marsden, it was a starting line up which both collectively and individually had underperformed all season long, most of whom Murray has surely seen enough of to decide whether they are good enough or not. Riley replaced the suspended Sutton, McGuire replaced Fitzpatrick, Lambe replace Bingham and Oliver replaced Rhead. Their was a slight tweak to the formation, as Murray opted for a 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-1-1, with McGuire and Clements shielding the defence, Brown and Thomas on the flanks with Lambe playing just behind Oliver. It is a formation that I like but Thomas should have been in the hole in my opinion. Hearn, Bingham and Fitzpatrick, who all deserved to feature in some capacity in my opinion, were on the bench. The weather was windy and bucketing with rain, meaning most of the 500+ travelling faithful retreated to the shelter of the seated area rather than the open terracing behind the goal.
The Stags started solidly and were competing well. Whilst not being the best facility wise, the close proximity to the pitch means you can hear a lot of the interaction between players and gives you an idea about the pace of the game.
The Stags should have bee ahead on 11 minutes. A long kick down field by Pidgeley was flicked on by Oliver putting Lambe through on goal with the ball bouncing and the keeper advancing. It was similar to Bingham's chance against York, but Lambe seemed to fear the keeper coming towards him and got too much on the ball which brushed the roof of the net on it's way over the bar.
The Stags were on top and creating half chances. Brown curled a weak effort wide of the right hand post following a poor corner by Clements and Thomas hit a 35 yard strike straight at the goalkeeper. Thomas had clearly been told to continue trying his luck from range after last weeks stunner against Portsmouth.
On 20 minutes, the ball came to Thomas on the right angle of the box, he took a touch wide of the defender and drilled a shot across the goal which was parried to safety by Davies. Four minutes later, Clements ran on to a loose ball on the edge of the area and scuffed a left footed effort well wide of the target.
After a quiet ten minutes, an interesting development as Marsden was fouled just inside his own half and Elder was entrusted with delivering rather than Clements. He whipped in a brilliant delivery which it appeared Riley almost got on the end of, but Davies collected well. Have we been missing a killer delivery from Elder for the last four months?
Five minutes later, Mansfield deservedly made the breakthrough. Brown dribbled infield with the ball from the left and tried to play the ball out to the right to Thomas. He only succeeded in picking out Windass who miscued his clearance between his two central defenders and into the path of Jamie McGuire. He does not find himself through on goal very often but he produced a powerful right footed strike over the keeper and into the roof of the net. If you'd have asked me ten games ago about Jamie McGuire I would have said get rid, but Thomas aside he has been our best player during the run in and seems to have cut the silly fouls out of his game. His leadership qualities are second to none of the current playing staff.
Accrington had been woeful in the first half but almost equalised in first half stoppage time, as a header from a corner was cleared off the line by Jack Thomas.
Possibly the best away performance in sometime by Mansfield as they retreated from the rain in to the portacabin/dressing room. They were applauded off by the ever-diminishing number of drenched fans who had braved the open terrace behind the goal. Interesting interactions that could be heard from the sidelines were McGuire constantly encouraging his teammates and Tafazolli organising the defence.
No physical changes at half time but a definite change in emphasis as Accrington equalised three minutes into the second half.. Mansfield seem to be particularly vulnerable in the early stages of a half. The Stags front four had been attempting to press but Lambe had clearly forgot the principle of stopping before you get to the player, as he simply charged at Nicky Hunt who beat him with ease on the right. Hunt threaded a ball into the path of Maguire between Tafazolli and Riley, the latter who seemed to be marking nobody. Maguire got into the area but passed the ball wide for Mingoia. The diminutive winger crossed first time to the back post where Windass had got in front of Marsden. His header was straight at Pidgeley who pushed the ball straight back to Conneely who made no mistake from 5 yards. Pidgeley could have pushed the ball wider in my opinion but he was not helped out by his static defence.
The red shirts were now definitely on top as Mansfield's midfield disappeared. Brown was now playing in the whole for some reason with Lambe on the left. Lambe was repeatedly poor defensively and was certainly told by his teammates. Terry Gornell fired over from the edge of the area when in a good position.
Despite all the talk of a new beginning for the Stags, Murray could not resist introducing Matt Rhead in place of Junior Brown. In a game where there was no pressure whatsoever, a perfect chance to implement new styles of play, the Stags resorted to looking long towards target man Rhead.
On 56 minutes, the hosts got in down the right as Gornell rounded Pidgeley but he was off balance and his weak effort was easily cleared by Tafazolli. The front man went close again a few minutes later, the ball again ending up with the fans behind the goal. The intensity seemed to have disappeared from the Stags game, with Accrington now firmly in control. Marsden made an excellent last ditch challenge as Conneely threatened again.
At the other end, another long range effort from Thomas was comfortably saved by Evans. The running seemed to be gone from the Stags legs as they made their second change on 61 minutes. Tafazolli, who had been playing with a bandage round his head for much of the game, was clearly in some discomfort and replaced by Lee Beevers, in an unfamiliar central role.
On 66 minutes, McGuire gave away a free kick on the edge of his own area. Josh Windass, son of Dean, stepped up and curled the ball wide via the wall, which Premier League referee Chris Foy did not spot and awarded a goal kick.
The hosts pressure paid of on 70 minutes as Gornell score a deserved goal. Windass played the ball into the left channel for Gornell to chase, with Riley after him and seemingly in control. However, as the Stags defender tried to keep up with Gornell, he went down clutching his hamstring, leaving Gornell with a clear path to goal. Gornell angled into the box from the left and put the ball past Pidgeley into the far corner. As a result of Riley's injury, a league debut was handed to huge defender Corbin Shires.
Despite long balls and flick ons by Rhead, Mansfield failed to create much in pursuit of an equaliser. On 88 minutes, the ball came to Clements on the right hand side of the area. The midfielder took too long in releasing his shot, which was blocked. Clements really needs to improve his all-round game in order to live up to the billing of best midfielder in League Two given to him by Adam Murray.
The Stags did have the ball in the net as the game went into stoppage time. Rhead headed the ball on for Oliver, who controlled excellently and stabbed a neat finish past Evans into the net. However, the flag had gone up for offside long before the ball trickled over the line.
So the season ends as it started for the Stags with an away defeat. It is not a season which will live long in the memory of any Stags fan. Adam Murray has certainly got a lot of work to do over the summer and he can truly be judged from this point forward.
There has been little improvement, if any, in the teams on the field performances since he took charge, but he will point to the fact that this is not his team and he is doing the best he can with the players at his disposal. If that is the case, then we can surely expect 15 plus names on the retained list which will be announced in the coming weeks. Meetings will take place this coming week between management and players as to who Murray wants to keep.
If it was up to me, the players I would keep are as follows : Studer, Marsden, Tafazolli, Elder, Thomas, Clements, McGuire, Hearn, Fitzpatrick, Bingham, Sutton and Blair.
The key areas to strengthen are an experienced proven goalkeeper or a loan from a higher club, Centre-halves with a bit of pace, Fast wingers, a goal-scoring midfielder and a couple of proven, experienced strikers. A really tough job for Murray, but he has shown he can attract a decent standard of player, the question going forward is whether he does actually know what style of football he would like to play and whether he has the nous to implement it.
Player Ratings :
Pidgeley - 6.5 - Should have done better with the first goal for me. Otherwise fine.
Marsden - 6.5 - Did ok first half, exposed a little in the second.
Riley - 6 - Not sure who we was supposed to be marking for the first goal. Otherwise ok.
Tafazolli - 6.5 - Did ok, missed a couple of headers.
Elder - 6.5 - Not bad but I don't rate him as highly as others do.
McGuire - 7.5 - Took his goal well. Part of an overrun midfield in the second half.
Clements - 5.5 - Poor game. Passing inaccurate and set pieces not good enough.
Brown - 6 - Not seen him take a player on since January. Goes missing too often.
Lambe - 6 - Did ok first half, terrible defensively second half.
Thomas - 7 - Not at his best but better than most. Few long range efforts and good pressing.
Oliver - 7 - Worked harder than of late but think there will be better options for next season.
Subs :
Rhead - 6.5 - Did his job but not the solution going forward. A good plan b but nothing more.
Beevers - 6.5 - Did ok.
Shires - Nice to see him make his debut.
With Adam Murray speaking in recent interviews about young players being given a chance and his dissatisfaction with the options he had to choose from, it was disappointing to see only four changes for a game which meant very little. With the exception of Thomas and Marsden, it was a starting line up which both collectively and individually had underperformed all season long, most of whom Murray has surely seen enough of to decide whether they are good enough or not. Riley replaced the suspended Sutton, McGuire replaced Fitzpatrick, Lambe replace Bingham and Oliver replaced Rhead. Their was a slight tweak to the formation, as Murray opted for a 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-1-1, with McGuire and Clements shielding the defence, Brown and Thomas on the flanks with Lambe playing just behind Oliver. It is a formation that I like but Thomas should have been in the hole in my opinion. Hearn, Bingham and Fitzpatrick, who all deserved to feature in some capacity in my opinion, were on the bench. The weather was windy and bucketing with rain, meaning most of the 500+ travelling faithful retreated to the shelter of the seated area rather than the open terracing behind the goal.
The Stags started solidly and were competing well. Whilst not being the best facility wise, the close proximity to the pitch means you can hear a lot of the interaction between players and gives you an idea about the pace of the game.
The Stags should have bee ahead on 11 minutes. A long kick down field by Pidgeley was flicked on by Oliver putting Lambe through on goal with the ball bouncing and the keeper advancing. It was similar to Bingham's chance against York, but Lambe seemed to fear the keeper coming towards him and got too much on the ball which brushed the roof of the net on it's way over the bar.
The Stags were on top and creating half chances. Brown curled a weak effort wide of the right hand post following a poor corner by Clements and Thomas hit a 35 yard strike straight at the goalkeeper. Thomas had clearly been told to continue trying his luck from range after last weeks stunner against Portsmouth.
On 20 minutes, the ball came to Thomas on the right angle of the box, he took a touch wide of the defender and drilled a shot across the goal which was parried to safety by Davies. Four minutes later, Clements ran on to a loose ball on the edge of the area and scuffed a left footed effort well wide of the target.
After a quiet ten minutes, an interesting development as Marsden was fouled just inside his own half and Elder was entrusted with delivering rather than Clements. He whipped in a brilliant delivery which it appeared Riley almost got on the end of, but Davies collected well. Have we been missing a killer delivery from Elder for the last four months?
Five minutes later, Mansfield deservedly made the breakthrough. Brown dribbled infield with the ball from the left and tried to play the ball out to the right to Thomas. He only succeeded in picking out Windass who miscued his clearance between his two central defenders and into the path of Jamie McGuire. He does not find himself through on goal very often but he produced a powerful right footed strike over the keeper and into the roof of the net. If you'd have asked me ten games ago about Jamie McGuire I would have said get rid, but Thomas aside he has been our best player during the run in and seems to have cut the silly fouls out of his game. His leadership qualities are second to none of the current playing staff.
Accrington had been woeful in the first half but almost equalised in first half stoppage time, as a header from a corner was cleared off the line by Jack Thomas.
Possibly the best away performance in sometime by Mansfield as they retreated from the rain in to the portacabin/dressing room. They were applauded off by the ever-diminishing number of drenched fans who had braved the open terrace behind the goal. Interesting interactions that could be heard from the sidelines were McGuire constantly encouraging his teammates and Tafazolli organising the defence.
No physical changes at half time but a definite change in emphasis as Accrington equalised three minutes into the second half.. Mansfield seem to be particularly vulnerable in the early stages of a half. The Stags front four had been attempting to press but Lambe had clearly forgot the principle of stopping before you get to the player, as he simply charged at Nicky Hunt who beat him with ease on the right. Hunt threaded a ball into the path of Maguire between Tafazolli and Riley, the latter who seemed to be marking nobody. Maguire got into the area but passed the ball wide for Mingoia. The diminutive winger crossed first time to the back post where Windass had got in front of Marsden. His header was straight at Pidgeley who pushed the ball straight back to Conneely who made no mistake from 5 yards. Pidgeley could have pushed the ball wider in my opinion but he was not helped out by his static defence.
The red shirts were now definitely on top as Mansfield's midfield disappeared. Brown was now playing in the whole for some reason with Lambe on the left. Lambe was repeatedly poor defensively and was certainly told by his teammates. Terry Gornell fired over from the edge of the area when in a good position.
Despite all the talk of a new beginning for the Stags, Murray could not resist introducing Matt Rhead in place of Junior Brown. In a game where there was no pressure whatsoever, a perfect chance to implement new styles of play, the Stags resorted to looking long towards target man Rhead.
On 56 minutes, the hosts got in down the right as Gornell rounded Pidgeley but he was off balance and his weak effort was easily cleared by Tafazolli. The front man went close again a few minutes later, the ball again ending up with the fans behind the goal. The intensity seemed to have disappeared from the Stags game, with Accrington now firmly in control. Marsden made an excellent last ditch challenge as Conneely threatened again.
At the other end, another long range effort from Thomas was comfortably saved by Evans. The running seemed to be gone from the Stags legs as they made their second change on 61 minutes. Tafazolli, who had been playing with a bandage round his head for much of the game, was clearly in some discomfort and replaced by Lee Beevers, in an unfamiliar central role.
On 66 minutes, McGuire gave away a free kick on the edge of his own area. Josh Windass, son of Dean, stepped up and curled the ball wide via the wall, which Premier League referee Chris Foy did not spot and awarded a goal kick.
The hosts pressure paid of on 70 minutes as Gornell score a deserved goal. Windass played the ball into the left channel for Gornell to chase, with Riley after him and seemingly in control. However, as the Stags defender tried to keep up with Gornell, he went down clutching his hamstring, leaving Gornell with a clear path to goal. Gornell angled into the box from the left and put the ball past Pidgeley into the far corner. As a result of Riley's injury, a league debut was handed to huge defender Corbin Shires.
Despite long balls and flick ons by Rhead, Mansfield failed to create much in pursuit of an equaliser. On 88 minutes, the ball came to Clements on the right hand side of the area. The midfielder took too long in releasing his shot, which was blocked. Clements really needs to improve his all-round game in order to live up to the billing of best midfielder in League Two given to him by Adam Murray.
The Stags did have the ball in the net as the game went into stoppage time. Rhead headed the ball on for Oliver, who controlled excellently and stabbed a neat finish past Evans into the net. However, the flag had gone up for offside long before the ball trickled over the line.
So the season ends as it started for the Stags with an away defeat. It is not a season which will live long in the memory of any Stags fan. Adam Murray has certainly got a lot of work to do over the summer and he can truly be judged from this point forward.
There has been little improvement, if any, in the teams on the field performances since he took charge, but he will point to the fact that this is not his team and he is doing the best he can with the players at his disposal. If that is the case, then we can surely expect 15 plus names on the retained list which will be announced in the coming weeks. Meetings will take place this coming week between management and players as to who Murray wants to keep.
If it was up to me, the players I would keep are as follows : Studer, Marsden, Tafazolli, Elder, Thomas, Clements, McGuire, Hearn, Fitzpatrick, Bingham, Sutton and Blair.
The key areas to strengthen are an experienced proven goalkeeper or a loan from a higher club, Centre-halves with a bit of pace, Fast wingers, a goal-scoring midfielder and a couple of proven, experienced strikers. A really tough job for Murray, but he has shown he can attract a decent standard of player, the question going forward is whether he does actually know what style of football he would like to play and whether he has the nous to implement it.
Player Ratings :
Pidgeley - 6.5 - Should have done better with the first goal for me. Otherwise fine.
Marsden - 6.5 - Did ok first half, exposed a little in the second.
Riley - 6 - Not sure who we was supposed to be marking for the first goal. Otherwise ok.
Tafazolli - 6.5 - Did ok, missed a couple of headers.
Elder - 6.5 - Not bad but I don't rate him as highly as others do.
McGuire - 7.5 - Took his goal well. Part of an overrun midfield in the second half.
Clements - 5.5 - Poor game. Passing inaccurate and set pieces not good enough.
Brown - 6 - Not seen him take a player on since January. Goes missing too often.
Lambe - 6 - Did ok first half, terrible defensively second half.
Thomas - 7 - Not at his best but better than most. Few long range efforts and good pressing.
Oliver - 7 - Worked harder than of late but think there will be better options for next season.
Subs :
Rhead - 6.5 - Did his job but not the solution going forward. A good plan b but nothing more.
Beevers - 6.5 - Did ok.
Shires - Nice to see him make his debut.
Comments
Post a Comment